Talking in bed

I used to comment that my older son (hearing) learned to talk in his crib. He would stay up for a long time just talking and 'reading' to himself after we put him to bed. That is where he would try out different expressions and words. Kevin never did that. I figured that he just thought bedtime was silent time.

Today, however, he figured out that bedtime is a time for talking too! Remember, Kevin can't hear while in his bed, but he has decided to take up talking himself to sleep too. We always leave a few books in his crib and today, while trying to take a nap, I heard him 'reading' Go Dogs Go. He would say, 'Big Dog, Little dog, Go Dog Go, etc'. It was really cute!

I don't know if his auditory memory is getting better or he has just decided to talk to himself in his crib, but either way it is fun to hear. I figure, the more he talks, the more practice he gets, and the better his language skills will be. (not that he needs to talk any more than he already does.....! He is NEVER quiet!)

Anyway, I just had to share how fun it is to hear your deaf child read to himself in bed!

Kevin can hear while swimming!

Kevin swam with his ears on for the first time today! We 'waterproofed' them using the Aloksak bag and a lycra swim cap. Kevin hasn't been interested in using this technique for a while, but I just bought a lycra swim cap today and thought I would give it another try. He initially didn't want it on, but his brother tried on the whole get-up first. Kevin decided that it wasn't so bad and he liked it! He actually heard while swimming!!! I was sooooo excited!

I sang 'motorboat, motorboat' and 'Sally the camel' and played 'marco polo' with him. I never thought I would be able to communicate with him like this while he was swimming. This has now opened up so many doors for Kevin in regards to water activity. It will make our trips to water parks more enjoyable, going to the beach (lake, ocean, etc) easier, and of course, swimming much more fun! Not to mention how much easier his swim lessons will be!!!

I guess I should really enjoy this because I know there will be a time when he doesn't want to look different from everyone else. Being that he is only 2, he doesn't really care right now. Hopefully, by the time he does care, hearing in the water will outweigh his self consciousness about his look.

I don't think I have been this happy about anything related to his cochlear implant since he was activated. This was a breakthrough day!!!

'K' is for Kevin

Well, as luck would have it, we ended up naming our son a hard name for a deaf child. Kevin can't say the sound 'k'. He can't get that back of the throat hard consonant. We should have named him 'Bobby' or something like that which he can say perfectly! Anyway, today, he said the sound 'k' makes. We wasn't able to use it with a word yet, but he could say 'kuh' 'Dedin' for Kevin. (He doesn't put the 'v' in there either, but can say that in isolation too...). Anyway, I was jumping off my chair when he actually said the hard consonant 'k'. Hopefully it will be a matter of time before he can say his name!!!

The oral-motor therapy seems to be working well. His tongue movement is much stronger than it was a few months ago. I am also noticing a big leap in his articulation. This may be just due to his developmental age, but I think the oral-motor therapy is helping.

Hooray for the letter K!